Once Upon a Chatroom
by CloudEpic
Summary: Take an arrogant twit and a bossy know-it-all. Add nosy best friends, evil teachers and a lot of chocolate. Mix in an all-new chatroom service in an ancient school of magic and you've got the perfect recipe for true love - or everlasting hatred.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N We the accused do not own Harry Potter. That honor goes to JK Rowling. We are a couple college students with way too much time on our hands._

_-September 16 9:30 pm-_

_Bookworm79 has logged on_

_DragonBeast7 has logged on_

Bookworm79: Hey, is anyone here?

DragonBeast7: what's up?

Bookworm79: Nothing much. I'm done with homework so I thought I would take a bit of a break.

DragonBeast7: how the hell are you done with all your work?

Bookworm79: Well, I like to be done ahead of time. That way I can be better prepared for what I learn in the future. Why, what's wrong with that?

DragonBeast7: you're weird.

Bookworm79: Just because you-whoever you are-don't like doing work doesn't mean I am weird! In the long run, my life will be better off for being diligent!

DragonBeast7: *scoffs* have you ever had fun in your life?

Bookworm79: Of course I have! I just also work! And who *scoffs*, anyways?

DragonBeast7: i scoff. who are you to stop me? and what was the last fun thing you did?

Bookworm79: I… I went for a walk! The weather's been really nice, lately...

DragonBeast7: a walk? really? that's your idea of fun?

Bookworm79: Well, what do you do for fun, then?

DragonBeast7: quidditch. occasionally I read. oh and terrorizing first years is always fun.

Bookworm79: Terrorizing first years? That's _your _idea of fun? At least I'm capable of enjoying myself without harassing others.

DragonBeast7: it's all good fun. just passing down the legacy that was passed to us in first year.

Bookworm79: Don't tell me you enjoyed that being done to you. so why would you do it to others?

DragonBeast7: tradition.

Bookworm79: I refuse to argue with an idiot like you.

DragonBeast7: not very pleasant are you? you're going to make a lot of enemies if you continue on like that.

Bookworm79: Is that supposed to be a threat?

DragonBeast7: take it as you will. you don't even know who I am.

Bookworm79: I'm sure I could figure it out if I wanted to.

DragonBeast7: oh really? go. right now. use your _fantastic_ detective skills to find out who I am.

Bookworm79: Well, you've proven yourself to be callous, arrogant, and a bully. So you're probably a Slytherin.

DragonBeast7: alright.. and?

Bookworm79: A Slytherin with the username DragonBeast7… How original, _Draco _Malfoy.

DragonBeast7: uh-huh. and what if that is supposed to be misleading? slytherins aren't as stupid as you might be led to believe.

Bookworm79: But you're not as smart as you think either. Malfoy would never allow one of his minions to pretend to be him. He's too much of an arrogant ponce.

DragonBeast7: he doesn't need to know… and also, you seem to know a lot about him. have a crush? ;)

Bookworm79: I don't need to know him to know that he's a complete tosser! It's obvious to anyone who sees him. As if I would ever fancy someone as… as _idiotic _and _arrogant _as that!

DragonBeast7: you seem to be running out of adjectives, love. also let's see if i can find out who you are…. bookworm would seem to indicate ravenclaw... but you're way too uptight for that. hufflepuff perhaps? or…. oh ho ho. I know exactly who you are, Granger.

Bookworm79: So maybe you're not as stupid as you seem, _Malfoy_. But don't insult my intelligence. It's obvious you're him.

DragonBeast7: perhaps… it's really none of your business.

Bookworm79: Getting defensive, are you Malfoy?

DragonBeast7: i don't need to answer to a low life like you.

Bookworm79: And yet you continue to do so. I wonder why. Have a crush?

_DragonBeast7 has logged off_

Bookworm79: Couldn't come up with a good retort? That's all right. Hermione: 1, Ferret: 0.

_Bookworm79 has logged off_


	2. Chapter 2

_-September 19, 7:43pm-_

_Bookworm79 has logged on_

_-7:57pm-_

_FreshPickledToad has logged on_

_RoonilWaslib has logged on_

RoonilWaslib: h

RoonilWaslib: o

RoonilWaslib: w

RoonilWaslib: d

RoonilWaslib: o

RoonilWaslib: i

RoonilWaslib: u

RoonilWaslib: s

RoonilWaslib: e

RoonilWaslib: t

RoonilWaslib: h

RoonilWaslib: i

RoonilWaslib: s

RoonilWaslib: /

Bookworm79: Ron! There's a space key for a reason.

FreshPickledToad: Give him a break 'Mione. He's never used anything even remotely muggle before… It's a miracle he could log on!

Bookworm79: Good point.

RoonilWaslib: OHH I UNDERSTAND.

Bookworm79: Tap 'caps lock' on your keyboard, Ron. Also why in the world are we doing this when we can just talk to each other face to face?

FreshPickledToad: But what's the fun in that?

Bookworm79: That's true. How were your days, then?

RoonilWaslib: they had my favorite sausages at dinner today! it was wonderful!

Bookworm79: Do you _ever _stop thinking about food, Ron?

FreshPickledToad: Give him a break, Hermione. He's a growing boy.

RoonilWaslib: after 7 years, you should know me, mione. but today is also an important day!

Bookworm79: It is?

RoonilWaslib: yea! the new firebolt is coming out!

FreshPickledToad: You're right! It even has 0 to 70 acceleration in 5 seconds! And the tail has been improved loads. It's more aerodynamic and they say that you just have to think it and the broom does it. I heard that the England team is trying to get some for their whole team. Hopefully it means that they have a chance at the world cup this year...

Bookworm79: Are… you sure that that's all that's happening today?

RoonilWaslib: pretty sure, unless you count snape giving us 2 essays for next week… why, is something else going on?

Bookworm79: No, just… it's nothing. Never mind.

FreshPickledToad: You alright, Hermione?

Bookworm79: Yeah, everything's fine. So what else have you been up to?

_*half an hour later*_

RoonilWaslib: can you pass me the chocolate frogs harry?

Bookworm79: You guys have been in the same room all this time?

FreshPickledToad: Yeah, but what's the point in talking face to face when you have this?

Bookworm79: Sometimes I wonder how on earth the two of you are adults.

RoonilWaslib: we just appreciate the finer things in life. speaking of which! we ran out of frogs…..i'm going to go get more chocolate from the kitchen.

FreshPickledToad: I'll come with you, I want to check up on Dobby. Bye Mione!

RoonilWaslib: yeah bye!

Bookworm79: Bye! Don't stay up too late, you two.

RoonilWaslib: yes mum.

_FreshPickledToad has logged off_

_RoonilWaslib has logged off_

Bookworm79: ...Firebolts? Really? For a moment there, I thought you remembered…

Bookworm79: I don't think I'm asking that much. After being friends for seven years, is this too much to ask?

Bookworm79: And if I ever bring it up, you two will just say 'Oh, look at Hermione, she's being a _girl _again.'

_DragonBeast7 has logged on_

Bookworm79: Just because I'm supposed to be the responsible logical one doesn't mean I don't have feelings too! You two are such stupid… stupid… _boys. _Argh!

Bookworm79: Why am I talking to an empty room?

DragonBeast7: au contraire, Granger. i always knew you were insane.

Bookworm79: _Malfoy? _When did you get here?

DragonBeast7: you do know that you can scroll up right? it'll tell you exactly when I got here. i thought you were muggleborn…. you should be able to use this thing.

Bookworm79: So how do _you _know how to use this thing?

DragonBeast7: elementary, my dear Granger. i'm just that smart.

Bookworm79: Wait. That's from a muggle book. Well, I mean, not exactly, it's derived from that book and Holmes never actually said it but-never mind! Why do you know that?

DragonBeast: i JUST told you… i'm that smart.

Bookworm79: Or… The great pureblood Draco Malfoy consumes muggle media. I wonder what the other Slytherins would think if they knew?

DragonBeast7: believe what you will, i don't need to answer to you.

Bookworm79: You say that a lot… and yet you continue to answer to me, Malfoy. Why is that?

DragonBeast7: think carefully now, love. do you really have any answers?

Bookworm79: I'm not your 'love'.

DragonBeast7: of course not. it's an expression. i'd never stoop to your level.

Bookworm79: And yet you'd stoop to the level of reading muggle detective novels?

DragonBeast7: and what if i told you that it's actually a wizarding story?

Bookworm79: Nice try, Malfoy. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a muggle. If he was a wizard we'd have learnt about it in History of Magic.

DragonBeast7: here's a history lesson for you. he was actually a wizard that decided to assimilate with muggles. he left the wizarding world behind when he was 17, fresh out of Hogwarts. it's a little known fact, but it's true.

Bookworm79: Why should I believe you?

DragonBeast7: because i'm right.

Bookworm79: Oh, the Great Draco Malfoy proclaims his rectitude, and the populace must abide. Will you ever stop being an egotistical arse?

DragonBeast7: only when you stop being a bushy-haired know-it-all ;)

Bookworm79: Since when do you use

Bookworm79: Who are you and what have you done with Draco Malfoy?

DragonBeast7: maybe you just don't know me, love.

Bookworm79: Stop calling me that! I am not your 'love' and I will never be your 'love', not even if you were the last male on Earth!

DragonBeast7: it seems like i've hit a nerve. i guess you do have those feelings you were ranting about earlier.

Bookworm79: What are you talking about?

DragonBeast7: "Just because I'm supposed to be the responsible logical one doesn't mean I don't have feelings too!"

Bookworm79: I

Bookworm79: That wasn't for you to read. Just go, Malfoy. You don't know a thing about me and you never will.

DragonBeast7: well that makes two of us. by the way... happy birthday, Granger.

_DragonBeast7 has logged off_

Bookworm79: He

Bookworm79: How did

Bookworm79: I never

Bookworm79: The nerve of him! Argh!

_Bookworm79 has logged off_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N Thank you so much for the reviews and the follows and the favorites! Y'all are so sweet. :)_

Draco's eyes snapped open. The flash of green blinded him. It took him a moment to remember where he was. In his bed, at Hogwarts. For a minute he let this realization sink through him, calming him. Then he glanced outside.

It was still dark out. Of course. But there was no chance of him getting any more sleep now, so he wandered down to the common room.

It was always the same dream. Sometimes it started out differently, but it always ended that same way, in the Great Hall, his father dueling, confident, and then-

No, there was no point in dwelling on it now. Sleep might be out of his grasp now but there was no reason to keep thinking about this. That had become his policy over the past few months. Don't think about bad things, and maybe they'll go away.

_And how's that working out for you?, _put in a sarcastic little voice at the back of his mind. So maybe it wasn't working very well. He still had nightmares, he still wasn't getting much sleep at all and his grades were suffering, he had next to no friends, but… he couldn't really bring himself to care. Maybe if he just continued floating through life something would change. He was just so tired and didn't have the energy to do anything different.

_Well aren't you a poor little baby_, he thought. _Wouldn't Father be proud if he saw you now?_

Sometimes Draco wished he could just turn his thoughts off. He was tired of thinking about the same things over and over again. It wasn't as if he could change the past by thinking about it hard enough. He decided to distract himself and log onto the chatroom, even though it was unlikely anyone else would be online at this early hour.

_DMHG DMHG DMHG DMHG_

_If performed properly, the Memory Charm will erase a very specific part of the subject's memory. However, it is currently unknown whether it is possible to undo a Memory Charm, as no one has never done so._

Hermione stared at those words until the tears made it impossible to read them. It wasn't like this was new information. This book had told her exactly what every other book she'd found so far had said.

She was never going to get her parents' memory back.

She wanted to cry, she wanted to rage, she wanted to scream and scream because it just _wasn't fair. _But then there was that little part of her that whispered _this is all your fault, you erased their memory, you took away their free will and now you'll pay the price_.

She'd done it to protect them. And the alternative, if they'd died… _but it's kind of like they're dead, isn't it Hermione? They're not the same people. They have different lives, different pasts. You_ _took their real lives away from them._

Hermione shook her head. No. Even with their memories gone, they were still alive, Wendell and Monica Wilkins were _still alive _and they would be happy and live their lives and maybe… maybe even have other children and they would never remember their daughter Hermione Granger who loved them very much. But maybe that was okay. She could pay this price if it meant she wasn't right now laying flowers at their graves… right?

She needed to not think about this for a while. It was 4 AM and sleep wasn't going to happen for her… but maybe a fellow insomniac was on the chatroom?

_DMHG DMHG DMHG DMHG_

-_September 25, 3:54 AM-_

_DragonBeast7 has logged on_

_-4:05 AM-_

_Bookworm79 has logged on_

Bookworm79: Is anyone there?

DragonBeast7: Granger.

Bookworm79: …Malfoy. Of course, of all the people, it had to be you.

DragonBeast7: the same could be said for you. it's not like I want to be here talking to you of all people.

Bookworm79: Well, why are you then? It's 4 AM. Shouldn't you be asleep?

DragonBeast7: in case you didn't notice, I was here before you. and you should be asleep too. what makes you the exception?

Bookworm79: I… I couldn't sleep.

DragonBeast7: well at least you're not one of those crazy people who chats while they sleep.

Bookworm79: I should hope not. Wait… one of those? Do you know someone who does that?

DragonBeast7: no.. but sleepwalkers exist, maybe there are sleepchatters out there too.

Bookworm79: I almost feel like I'm sleepchatting. Or dreaming. Since when are you so pleasant?

DragonBeast7: pleasant? maybe you are dreaming Granger.

Bookworm79: Maybe I am. Lately my dreams have been much better than reality.

DragonBeast7: lucky, i wish that were the same for me.

Bookworm79: You do?

DragonBeast7: well nightmares tend not to be fun for most people, me included.

Bookworm79. I'm… sorry to hear that. Have you tried going to Madame Pomfrey? Maybe she has a potion that could help.

DragonBeast7: i don't think that's necessary.

Bookworm79: What do you mean, not necessary? If you're having trouble sleeping that's not good. Don't you want to do something about it?

DragonBeast7: the same could go for you. i doubt that you're online because you're nocturnal.

Bookworm79: Like I said, I couldn't sleep. It's not a big deal or anything.

DragonBeast7: whatever you say, love.

_-4:30 AM-_

Bookworm79: I've been meaning to ask. How did you know it was my birthday?

DragonBeast7: doesn't everyone know your birthday?

Bookworm79: Of course they do. In fact, every year Snape brings me a cake he bakes all by himself!

DragonBeast7: did he also wear that giant green party hat he always does?

Bookworm79: Why, yes he did. Does he bake cakes for you too, Malfoy?

DragonBeast7: of course he does. can't disappoint his godson now, can he?

Bookworm79: You're hilarious, Malfoy. But stop trying to change the topic. Not everyone knows my birthday, so why do you?

DragonBeast7: not everyone? or just not everyone important to you?

Bookworm79: Shut up, Malfoy. What do you know?

DragonBeast7: that it seems someone forgot dear old Granger's birthday.

Bookworm79: You know what? Yes, Harry and Ron forgot my birthday. But that doesn't mean they're not my best friends.

DragonBeast7: riight. at least i don't have friends that forget my birthday.

Bookworm79: At least I _have_ friends. Unlike you. And the fact that _you _know my birthday-for whatever reason-doesn't make you my friend. I mean, let's face it, Malfoy. We hate each other. We could never be friends.

DragonBeast7: never say never, love.

Bookworm79: You're right. Malfoy, we'll be friends on the day that Snape sings happy birthday with a giant green party hat on.

DragonBeast7: i look forward to it.

_Bookworm79 has logged off_

DragonBeast7: like that would ever happen. i could never be friends with someone as annoying as you, granger. like i even need friends. what use are they? all they do is forget your birthday. just more trouble than they're worth. i'm fine on my own. i'm doing great! i don't _need _friends! ha!

_DragonBeast7 has logged off_


End file.
